


Painting Nails

by AutisticTenko



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Angst, Gen, Neck trauma, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-08 09:39:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14102616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutisticTenko/pseuds/AutisticTenko
Summary: (Ch1 and Ch6 spoilers)Tsumugi and Akamatsu paint each other's nails.





	Painting Nails

**Author's Note:**

> Me: spends over a month on 2k word fluff, going well over the date it was supposed to be posted  
> Also me: writes this in, like, a day
> 
> ...I mean, to be fair, the first part is taken directly from the game, but still. Why am I like this?

There was nobody in the game room other than Tsumugi, who sat there patiently waiting for Akamatsu to show up. It was completely silent other than the sound of her occasionally moving and a bouncy tune playing in the background - did this room have a jukebox or radio or something? Before she could go and look for one, the door burst open and Akamatsu ran into the room, slamming the nail polish on the table in front of Tsumugi.

'Let's go, Shirogane-san!'

'Huh? Huuuh? Why are you so excited?' Tsumugi was slightly taken aback by her energy; it fit her character, but the situation less so.

Akamatsu laughed, smiling. 'Hahaha, sorry! I've just never had my nails done before!'

'I-it makes me feel just plain pressured when you look forward to it so much... I'm not _that_  good at doing nails, so don't get your hopes up too much, okay?' Akamatsu gave her a comforting smile.

'Okay!' Again, why is she so...?

'Why are your eyes sparkling so much?' Akamatsu gave another small laugh before Tsumugi asked her to extend a hand, and began to paint her nails.

The colour was quite nice, though slightly unnerving, a pink so bright it could easily be mistaken for blood, but closer inspection showed that it was actually a bit darker - only a tad bit, but impossible to ignore once you realised it.

Finishing off the last nail, Tsumugi put the brush back in the nail polish before looking up at Akamatsu. She had brought her hands up to her face, looking at them in awe.

'Okay...how's that?' Tsumugi asked, as if Akamatsu's reaction wasn't enough of an answer.

'Oh my god! So cute! How did you get it like that?' Her excitement was almost embarrassing - it's not like Tsumugi did anything particularly special.

'I just painted a pink gradient on them.'

'That's all!? God, I don't even recognise my own fingernails anymore! They're so cute!'

Tsumugi smiled a bit, glad at the opportunity to talk a bit about what she knew about nails. 'With a gradient like this, you can make even plain nails- no, they're short, but they're shaped nicely. They shouldn't get in the way of playing piano.'

Akamatsu nodded. 'Yeah, this should be fine! I never knew you could get your nails done when they're short.'

Tsumugi frowned in realisation. 'Umm... come to think of it... Even if you're a pianist, you could just put on fake nails when you're not on the piano.'

Akamatsu laughed. 'True, but still! I'm glad you did this for me, Shirogane-san!'

...

Huh?

...

This was weird. Definitely weird.

The actual words were no problem, but Tsumugi couldn't shake the feeling that they weren't supposed to be said.

That something else should've happened just then.

That someone else should be here.

...

Oh well. It was probably better this way - she'd hate for someone to interrupt her time with Akamatsu.

'-ne-san? Hey, Shirogane-san!' She was taken out of it by Akamatsu poking her cheek.

'Huh? Oh, sorry... I guess I zoned out a bit there.' She shook her head a bit, before smiling at Akamatsu. 'It's nothing to worry about, really. What should we do now?'

'Hmm... Oh, right! I need to do your nails!'

'Need to? You don't need to do them, it's fine.'

'Nonsense! You did mine, it's only right I should return the favour!'

'If you say so...' Looking triumphant, Akamatsu held the hand Tsumugi extended to her and brought the brush to her nails, though the colour was different now. Rather than slightly off, it seemed brighter, more like blood now. The tune in the background grew louder and Tsumugi swore she could smell blood, but kept quiet, trying to focus on Akamatsu because she's real, she has to be, she's alive, she's _here_ , here with Tsumugi and not-

'Hey, Shirogane-san..." Akamatsu suddenly said, looking up from her work, and Tsumugi froze at her gaze, eyes that were usually so kind and energetic now somehow peircing and yet completely blank. "Do you think I could kill?"

"Do I... think you could kill? I..." She gulped. "I don't know you well enough to say whether you would try to kill, I would hope n-"

 **'That wasn't the question. If I tried to kill, would I succeed?** ' Tsumugi started shaking.

"I- why are you asking _me_? I-I don't know-"

 **'YES YOU DO. YOU KNOW.** ' Akamatsu's face changed as she gripped Tsumugi's hand tighter, turning bluer and bluer, looking at her accusingly. The music in the background was at full blast, speeding up, and now Tsumugi recognised it - Der Flohwalzer, a song she had picked herself. ' **I'M INNOCENT. I DIDN'T DO IT. YOU KNOW. YOU KNOW.'**

Her words started becoming strained as she leaned closer to Tsumugi's face, losing breath until she finally flopped down onto the table. As soon this happened Tsumugi flailed about to get away, knocking over the nail polish - no, the blood, it was blood, blood that was now on her hands, dripping off the table onto the floor, onto the corpse that had appeared there, and oh, maybe thats why he didn't turn up this time?

' **I'M INNOCENT.** ' Tsumugi looked up again to see that Akamatsu's neck had completely twisted around, staring blankly at her upside down. ' **YOU'RE THE CULPRIT. YOU KILLED HIM. YOU BROKE THE RULES.'**

**_'YOU DID THIS TO ME'_ **

Tsumugi's eyes snapped open. She sat up in her bed, breathing heavily and crying, and checked the time on her Monopad. There was still some time, about an hour before the Monokuma announcement, that she could use to calm herself.

Getting out of her bed and walking over to her closet where she kept all of her cosplay, she briefly thought how somebody - they gave Ouma lock-picking skills, right? - could come in here, find this, and recognise Enoshima's outfit that she had pulled out.

She also thought that maybe it wouldn't be so bad if that happened.

Locking herself in her bathroom, she changed clothes, put on a wig, and did her make-up in almost no time at all - motions that were forcibly ingrained into her memory. Finishing off her eyeliner, Junko Enoshima looked at herself in the mirror, and laughed.

"Wow, really? It's amazing how conceited some people can be! Thinking that such a painfully dull background bitch could break the rules and get away with it? That's _hilarious_!" She was screaming the words loud enough to hurt her throat and drown out any other noise, internal or external, almost wishing the walls weren't sound proof. "The only one who can do that is _me_ , the mastermind! Honestly, acting like she was the one to do it is almost insulting!" She slammed her hands on the sink in mock anger, breaking one of her fake nails off, and suddenly plain old Tsumugi was back in the mirror.

Breathing deeply, she picked up the nail and started changing back, thinking about what Enoshima said. Of course - the mastermind made the executions, made the rules, and so only the mastermind could break them, could execute someone.

The mastermind had no right, no right at all, to care about the people here, no right to care about Akamatsu.

But maybe... maybe Tsumugi Shirogane did.

And maybe if she repeated it enough, she'd believe it, even if it was a lie.

**Author's Note:**

> Was it distasteful to post this on Kaede's birthday? Oh well.


End file.
